Why ex-Conor McGregor sparring partner Chris van Heerden feels bad for Paulie Malignaggi

When the whole Conor McGregor vs. Paulie Malignaggi situation erupted, one man was hit with a sense of deja vu.

That’s former IBO and IBF welterweight champion Chris van Heerden, who had a similar experience with the UFC’s lightweight champion last summer. Unlike Malignaggi, who was hired to help McGregor prepare for a boxing showdown with undefeated Floyd Mayweather, van Heerden volunteered to help the Irishman for his UFC 202 rematch with Nate Diaz.

What happened after that, though, is quite similar. Like Malignaggi, who’s been making the rounds in the media after unflattering footage of his training sessions with the McGregor were released, van Heerden had videos of an encounter with McGregor made public. And he also wasn’t happy with his portrayal.

Van Heerden has spoken with MMAjunkie before about the situation (the account can be read in detail here). More recently he basically has seen a re-run of his own debacle unfold between McGregor and Malignaggi, who spoke with van Heerden before joining camp. While his fellow pro boxer seemed to immediately take a pro-Conor route, van Heerden says he wasn’t particularly surprised when things took a bad turn..

“It was like, ‘You know, guys, you’re all going to be surprised – Conor is not bad,'” van Heerden told MMAjunkie Radio. “And I thought, ‘You know what, these guys are buddy-buddying. And good for them.’ But deep down, I was expecting something to come out eventually. And it did. And I was like, ‘Exactly what he did to you guys, is what he did to me.’ And I was called a snake. But the only difference is I had footage. Paulie doesn’t.”

After images he says he never agreed to be make public ended up on TMZ and “The Mac Life,” van Heerden released his own video – shot unbeknownst to McGregor’s camp. Van Heerden caught some heat for it. But after the perceived back-stabbing, he was grateful for his decision to get his own recording of the sparring session out there.

Van Heerden is not at all happy about what’s been done to Malignaggi – who he likes and thinks deserved more respect.  But throughout the ordeal, he got some vindication of his own.

“A big part of me – and this is going to sound ugly – but a big part of me was relieved,” van Heerden said. “Because I was like, ‘I’m not the bad guy in this. I’m not the bad guy in this.’ This guy is just showing his true colors. He’s done it again.

“But this time, I hope that people can open their eyes. This big Conor McGregor guy that’s so blown up. That they can see that, hey, Conor is actually – he’s in it for himself. And he’s going to do whatever he’s got to do to sell this fight and make himself look good. And he doesn’t care about anyone.”

The whole situation doesn’t change van Heerden’s appreciation for McGregor’s (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) skills as an MMA fighter. In fact, he’ll be the first to say McGregor was nothing but cordial and gentlemanly in their personal interactions. After what he saw first-hand, however, van Heerden is not that generous when it comes to the chances he’s giving McGregor to do well against Mayweather (49-0 boxing).

But we’ll get to that in a minute.

First, the good news.

“Conor is a good boxer for an MMA fighter,” van Heerden said. “What was surprising for me was, the good thing about him was the same as in the UFC: his counterpunch. Straight left. (It’s) beautiful. His precision, his timing. If you’re lazy, if you throw a lazy punch at him, he’s going to make you pay.

“I’m going to be honest. We sparred, not throwing anything with bad intentions, and being a little bit lazy. He countered me, and he caught me. I was like, ‘OK, good man. Now I know what he’s up about.’ His timing, his precision is very good. He can fight. He’s a fighter. He knows how to fight.”

As for the bad news?

“His footwork is all over the place,” van Heerden said. “He’s dropping his hands, and he’s putting his chin out there. Stuff like that. Pretty bad. He doesn’t throw in combinations. That’s the big thing that MMA fighters lack. And that’s the upside of boxing.

“When I wanted to put Conor on is back foot, it was too easy. It was really too easy. And Conor is bigger than me. Believe it or not, I was surprised at the size of Conor, him being that big, how easily I could put him on his backfoot. Because I knew my footwork was in place, and his wasn’t.”

If van Heerden were to give McGregor any advice to avoid being embarrassed, it’s pretty simple: whatever he’s learned in boxing, throw it out the window. Make it as wild and ugly as possible, and make damn sure Mayweather is uncomfortable the second they step into the ring.

“Conor is going to forget everything he learned about boxing the moment he gets touched up,” van Heerden said. “The moment he gets hit, he’s going to drop his hands. He’s going to go right back into his MMA style, and he’s going to completely forget about boxing. Mark my words.”

To hear detailed accounts from van Heerden’s dealings with McGregor, check  out the video above.

And for more on “The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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